Duplicator



Jan. 21, 1941. F. B7 MQRRE 2,229,583

nurucuon Filed Oct 28, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Jan. 21, 1941. a B. MORRIS 2,229,583

DUPLICATOR 7 Filed Oct. 28, 1959 a Shets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

A ORNEY.

Patented Jan. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES DUPLICATOR Fred B. Morris, Havel-loidex Co poration, of Michigan rd, l'a., assignor to Bai Detroit, Mich a.corporation Application October 28, 1939, Serial No. 301,714

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in du plicating machines of thetype by which a plurality of copy sheets may be made from a mastersheet.

5 In duplicating machines, suitable dissoluble copying ink is employedin writing or typing the characters or data on the master sheet andprior to contact with the master sheet, the blank copy sheets aremoistened with a volatile quickly diffusing fluid, such as alcohol orother activating agent which will dissolve a minute but suflicientamount of the ink from the master characters to form clear legibleduplicate characters on the copy sheets when they engage the mastersheet under pressure.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a new andimproved duplicating machine in which positive supply of the moisteningactivating agent to the clear copy sheets is assured.

Another object of the invention is to supply the moistening fluid to theclear copy sheets by and in accordance with operation of the machine toinsure that each copy sheet will be properly 2 moistened prior toengagement with the master sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide for equal distribution ofthe moistening fluid over the copy sheets.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which-Figure 1 is a top plan view of my duplicating machine having partsbroken away and in section 3 to show certain details of construction;

Fig. 2 is a vertical view of the machine shown partly in elevation andpartly in section, taken along the line and in the direction of the ar--rows 2--2 of Fig. 1, and showing the operating 40 parts in the positionsthey will assume durin the making of a copy;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 taken along the line and in thedirection of the arrows 3-3 f Fig. 1 showing the operating parts in theposition they will assume prior to the feeding of a copy sheet to themachine;

Fig. 4 is a vertical view partly in elevation and partly in section ofthe machine, taken along the line and in the direction of the arrows 4-450 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my wick holder with the wick removedtherefrom;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wick, and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the wick holder and wick assembled.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference. the presentmachine includes two spaced apart, substantially parallel upright sideor frame members Ill, rigidly secured together by cross rods II and atoneor the rear end of the ma- 5 chine the uprights are provided withupwardly extended portions l2 having aligned apertures to receive stubshafts l3 which rotatably support a drum platen ll. In the presentinstance, the drum l4 comprises an open ended tubular member and endmembers l5 secured in and to the opposite ends thereof, the end membersl5 being provided with apertures or bearings to receive the stub shafts[3. A manually operable crank lia. may be provided to rotate the drum Hor the drum may be power driven, as de sired.

A master sheet may be attached to the platen drum It by any suitablemeans, the drum in the present instance being provided in its outerperiphery with an elongated recess slot, or slideway I 8 in which aslidable bar or clip I9 is adapted to hold the master sheet secured tothe drum by a border portion of the sheet along one edge thereof. Anysuitable attachment means may be provided for releasably attaching themaster sheet to the drum M.

The side members or uprights H) are provided with inwardly directedbosses and 3|, rearward of the drum I 4, and these bosses are providedwith inwardly facing opposed slots 32 in which are received and suported, end portions of a removable, flat, rectangular container orholder 33 for a wick 34. The wick holder 33 is angularly disposed withrespect to the front and 35 rear of the machine and extends downwardlyand toward the drum It, the forward edge of the holder 33 being closelyadjacent the outer periphery of the drum it below the axis thereof andonly slightly above a horizontal plate support 35 which supports theblank copy sheets and which in turn is supported by the side uprightsIn. Referring in detail to the holder 33 and wick 34 shown in detail inFigs. 5, 6 and 7, the holder is in the form of a casing having a bottomwall 31, an integral rear wall 38, end walls 39 and a cover or top wall4|. Reenforcing strips a may be welded or otherwise secured to theholder end walls 39, externally thereof and having end portions 42projecting 5 past the forward edge 43 of the holder bottom wall 31 towhich portions 42, the cover 4| is pivoted, as at 44, at its oppositeends and adjacent the formed edge 45 thereof. The holder on being shovedinto position in its retaining slots 32 may. be properly located byoutwardly pressed detents (not shown) but which may be provided in thebosses, 30, 3| and engage in sockets 38a in the holder end reenforcingstrips 4|. The forward edges 43 and 45 of the holder 33 are spaced apartproviding an opening to permit a border portion 46 of the rectangularshaped wick along a longitudinal edge thereof to project externally ofthe holder for engagement by the blank copy sheet. As shown in Fig. '1the forward edge 43 of the bottom wall 31 is spaced rearward of theforward edge 4|b of the cover to expose the lower edge 34a of the wickfor engaging the blank copy sheets. A metallic locating and reenforcingstrip 41 for the wick 34 may be riveted thereto, as at 48, thereenforcing strip extending longitudinally of the wick and havingopposite, bent end portions 50 for seating in locating notches 5|provided in the upper edges of the holder end walls 39 providing foraccurate and easy positioning of the wick in the holder 33 so that aproper portion of the wick projects externally of the holder. In thewick holder 33, and extending along the rear wall 38 thereof, a conduitor tube 52 is provided to supply or convey a suitably volatile andquickly diffus ing fluid, such as alcohol, to the wick, the tube 52being provided with spaced outlets 53 therealong. It will be seen thatas one edge of the removable wick becomes soiled, the wick may be turnedover or reversed whereby all four longitudinal edges of the wick may beemployed which is advantageous in that it reduces the expense of wickreplacements.

In order to. insure equal distribution of the activating agent oralcohol on the blank copy sheets there is provided spring fingers 54,Figs. 1 and 2 which engage the wick holder cover 4|, adjacent theforward edge thereof and may be adjustably tensioned to vary thepressure on the wick. The spring fingers 54 are secured to collars 55which are adjustably mounted on a cross rod 56, connecting the uprightIII of the machine, the springs being held in the desired lateralposition, or at points along the holder where pressure is needed, by setscrews 51 which thread into the collars in engagement with the cross rodand also hold the springs under the desired tension. Instead ofemploying the two spring fingers 54 a single tensioned plate memberextending substantially entirely the length of the holder in engagementtherewith may be used, if desired.

In order to insure proper molstening of the copy sheets to attain clearlegible copies of the master sheet characters, the moistening fluid oralcohol is supplied from a container 60 by a pump 6| to the wick holder33 on operation of the drum M. The container 60 is positioned betweenand supported by the upright supports l8, below the wick holder 33, andis provided with a filler opening closed by a cover 62. The pump 5|,which may be of any suitable type, is disposed in the container 60immediately below the boss 38 which is provided with a vertical threadedaperture to receive a tubular adjustment thumb screw 63 having a guidebore which slidably receives and guides a vertically reciprocal rod 64that is connected to the pump plunger (not shown). Beneath the lower endof the adjustment screw 63, the reciprocable pump rod 64 carries a pin65 which engages the lower end of the adjustment screw as a stop, theposition of the adjustment screw thus determining the pump stroke andquantity of fluid delivered to the wick holder 33 each stroke of thepump 6|. The adjustment screw 63 is positioned in a recess provided inthe wall of one of the uprights II, the recess opening externally of theupright to give ready access to the adjustment screw. Connected to theoutlet side of the pump 6|, a tube 66 is connected to the holder tube 52by a flexible tube or hose 61 so as to provide for ready removal of thewick holder 33.

The pump operating rod 64 projects above the boss 38 and is providedwith a laterally extending abutment member in the form of a pin 69 forabutment by a lever 10 which is pivoted to the adjacent upright l by apivot pin 1|, the leverbeing operated by a cam 12 which may be formedintegral with the drum end member l externally thereof. The leverloosely abuts the abutment pin 65 by the pump rod 64 providing foradjustment of the pump rod stroke by the thumb screw 63. Preferably, theend of the lever 10, adjacent the pump rod 64 is provided with alaterally bent portion 10a providing a handle or grip for direct manualoperation of the pump 6|. That is, if the machine has been idle for atime, the pump 6| may be manually operated to supply fluid to the wick34 to insure that the wick 34 is sufliciently supplied with fluid beforeoperation of the machine is begun. During operation of the machine, apredetermined quantity of liquid, depending upon the pump strokeadjustment, is supplied by the pump 6| to the wick holder 33 eachrevolution of the drum platen l4. The wick holder 33, except for theopening through which the wick edge 34 projects, is fluid tight and thewick preferably occupies substantially the entire volume of the holderto which fluid may be supplied under pressure by the pump.

Beneath the drum and adjacent the forward edge of the wick 34, apressure roller 13 is adapted to engage the outer periphery of the drumH, the roller 13 serving to press the blank copy sheets against themaster sheet on the drum to provide good clear copies. The roller 13,which may be formed of rubber, extends substantially coextensive andparallel with the drum I4 and may have a metallic core provided withopposite reduced end portions 16, rotatably and loosely supported in theends of a pair of levers 11 which are pivotally supported intermediatetheir ends to respective side members |8 by pivot pins 18. Connected tothe other ends of the levers 11 are helical coi1 springs 18 whichyieldingly urge the roller 13 into contact with the drum l4, the lowerends of the springs 19 being adjustably anchored to integral bosses 8|!of the side uprights l0 .beneath which bosses adjustment screws 80areceive threaded ,pins 8| to which the springs are secured.

Beneath the wick, adjacent the forward edge thereof, a shaft 82 isrotatably supported in the opposite side uprights l0 and welded orotherwise secured to the shaft is pressure plate 83 for urging the blankcopy sheets into contact with the exposed wick edge. Along onelongitudinal edge thereof, the plate 83 may be weld- -ed or otherwisesecured to the shaft 82, the plate having an upper convex surfacecurving upwardly and forwardly and terminating adjacent the front edgeof the wick. Mounted upon and secured to the shaft 82 is a bell cranklever 84, which is disposed adjacent one of the side uprights l0 and isprovided with a horizontal lever arm 85 carrying a roller 86 arranged tobe engaged by a cam 81 provided in the outer face of the drum end memberII. The lever 44 is biased to pivot in one direction or toward the druml4 by a helical coil spring 88 such movement of the lever being limitedby a stop pin 89 5 against which the other or depending arms 90 of thelever abuts. It will thus be seen that for each rotation of the drum 14the cam 81 in engagement with the roller 86 pivots the lever 84 andmoves the pressure plate 83 downwardly away from the wick. This movementof the pressure plate 83 takes place before entrance of each blank copysheet between the plate and wick after which the spring I8 is releasedby the 4 cam 81 and moves the pressure plate upward to hold the blanksheets in contact with the moistening edge of the wick 34.

In operation, assuming that the master sheet I! has been attached to thedrum M as herein described, a stack of blank copy sheets which may besupported on the horizontal plate are then fed the machine one at a timeor one for each turn of the drum. On each turn of the drum l4 the drumcam 12 pivots the lever II moving the rod 69 downward to actuate thepump 6| which then supplies a predetermined amount of fluid from thecontainer 60 through the tubes 56, 61 and 52 into the wick holder 33 atthe rear edge of the wick 34 therein. As previously mentioned thequantity of liquid supplied to the wick holder may be varied by rotatingthe adjustment screw 63 by which the stroke of the pump may be changed.Just prior to the entrance of a blank sheet between the wick 34 and thepressure plate 83 the drum cams 81 engage the rollers 86, pivotinglevers 84 and moving the pressure plate 83 downwardly out of engagementwith the exposed wick edge to permit entrance of the paper between thesaid wick edge and the pressure plate 83 immediately after the entranceof the blank sheet between the wick and pressure plate,

the cams 81 move out of engagement with the rollers 86 permitting thesprings 19 to urge the pressure plate upwardly to press the blank sheetagainst the wick edge. The blank sheet now being properly moistenedenters between the drum l4 and the pressure roller 13 which presses themoistened sheet against the master sheet on rotation of the drum.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided anew and improved duplicating machine in which a volatile fluid,activating agent is positively supplied to a wick to maintain the sameproperly moistened for properly moistening blank copy sheets fed to themachine. It will also be seen that in the present machine the fluidactivating agent is supplied to the wick by and on operation of the drumplaten and that the quantity of fluid supso plied may be varied asdesired. Furthermore in the present machine new and improved means fortightly but easily and quickly attaching the master sheet to the platendrum has been provided. In addition a novel wick holder assembly isprovided to which the activating or moistening fluid is supplied. Itwill be appreciated that by exerting pressure on the wick by springfingers or by supplying fluid under pressure to the wick holders, orboth, together with inject- 70 ing the fluid into the holder at pointsalong the rear edge of the wick that good distribution of fluid to thewick will be had.

What I claim is: 1. In a duplicating machine for making a 15 pluralityof copies of a master sheet, a rotatable drum platen to which the mastersheet is attached, a wick for moistening the copy sheets with a liquidprior to contact with the master sheet, a liquid container, a containerfor the wick, pump means operable on rotation of the drum for deliveringthe liquid to said wick container, and means directly connecting saidliquid container and said wick container.

2. In a duplicating machine for making a plurality of copies of a mastersheet, a rotatable drum platen to which the master sheet is attached, awick for molstening the copy sheets with a liquid prior to contact withthe master sheet, a container for the wick, a container for the liquid,pump means operable on rotation of the drum for delivering the liquid tosaid. wick container and arranged entirely within said liquid container,and means operatively connecting said drum and said pump means.

3. In a duplicating machine for making a plurality of copies of a mastersheet, a pair of spaced side frame members, a rotatable drum platen towhich the master sheet is attached and supported by said frame members,said frame members having inwardly directed slotted bosses, a wick formoistening the copy sheets with a liquid prior to contact with themaster sheet, a container for the wick and having its ends retained insaid slotted bosses, a liquid container supported at its opposite endsby said frame members, pump means operable on rotation of the drum fordelivering the liquid from said liquid container to said wick container,and means for varying the quantity of liquid delivered to said wickcontainer each revolution of the drum.

4. In a duplicating machine for making a plurality of copies of a mastersheet, a rotatable drum platen to which the master sheet is attached,moisture absorbing means for moistening the copy sheets with a liquidprior to contact of the copy sheets with the master sheet,

' a container for the moisture absorbing means and having a flexiblewall portion, pump means operable 0n rotation of the drum for deliveringthe liquid to said container, and means acting on said containerflexible wall portion to exert pressure on said moisture absorbingmeans.

5. In a duplicating machine for making a plurality of copies of a mastersheet, a rotatable drum platen to which the master sheet is attached, awick for moistening the copy sheets with a liquid prior to contact withthe master sheet, a container for the wick, and pump means operable onrotation of the drum for delivering the liquid to said wick container,said container having a flexible wall portion, a tensioned member actingon said wall portion to apply pressure on said wick, said member beingmovably adjustable to change the point of application of pressure onsaid Wall.

6. In a duplicating machine for making copies of a master sheet, arotatable drum platen to which the master sheet is attached, a wick formoistening the blank copy sheets with a soluble liquid prior to contactof the copy sheets with the master sheet, a container for the wick, acontainer for the liquid, a pump for delivering the liquid to the wickcontainer and having an upwardly extending stem provided with anabutment, cam means carried by said drum to actu-' ate said pump, and alever engaging and operated directly by said cam means, said leverhaving an arm resting on said abutment for actuating same.

7. In a duplicating machine for making copies of a master sheet, arotatable drum, an impression roller movable bodily into and'out 01engagement with said roller, cam means carried by said drum for movingsaid roller away from said drum, means for moving said roller intoengagement with the periphery of said drum and arranged immediatelytherebeneath, a wick tor moistening the copy sheets prior to contact ofthe copy sheets with the master sheet. a liquid 10 reservoir immediatelybelow said wick, and pump with the master sheet, a container for saidwick and having an upper flexible wall, and adjustable springmeansabutting said flexible wall portion to bring pressure on said wick.

' y FRED B. MORRIS.

